


A Frosen Fantasy Tale

by Tahnex



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, Magic, Multi, Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28531998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahnex/pseuds/Tahnex
Summary: A fantasy AU where Weiss and Penny have been appointed as the personal bodyguards to Princess Ruby Rose, who is facing assassination attempts from parties unknown who seem to have their sights set on taking over the kingdom...(And yes, frozen is spelt incorrectly deliberately as it's from the Frosen Steel ship name)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Penny Polendina/Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 24
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss Neige and Penny Polendina rush to protect Princess Ruby Rose from assassins in the castle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally posted as part of Frosen Steel Week 2020, and I wanted to expand upon it and make it a full fic - Which is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191501/chapters/66416078

Weiss’ footsteps clanked as she sprinted down the stone corridor, the tapestries that lined it a colourful blur. Coming round a corner into an entranceway she found herself face to face with another human. She lifted her sword slightly instinctively, but on recognising the armour that the other person wore she lowered it again.

“The princess?” Her voice was sharp and to the point, not wanting to waste her breath on more words.

The other guard shook her head, and lowered the crossbow she’d raised upon seeing Weiss, “I’m on my way to her.” 

Without any more words they both sprinted up the stairs and down another corridor, their memories of the castle layout helping them with the shortest route. They skidded to a stop outside an open door, the wood slightly broken from an attack. Together they took in the sight of the room where, amongst three dead bodies in light black clothing, stood a single woman, wearing little more than a red nightshift, and holding a large weapon that was dripping blood from the blade.

“Princess Ruby!” The guard with the crossbow called out in shock and the girl looked up, the giant red and black scythe she wielded held easily in one hand. She lowered it more towards the ground, a strange look on her face as she took in the two armoured guards. Weiss just stared in astonishment; The Princess had killed the assassins?

The sound of breaking glass shook them all out of their individual thoughts as a fourth assassin burst through the window behind the princess, who spun lifting her scythe…except the two guards knew it would be too late. Without thinking of the consequences, Weiss lifted her hand and a shimmering snowflake split the air between the assassin and the princess. The assassin had rolled and brought their sword up, point clearly aiming for the princess’ chest, only to hit the snowflake and slow as if going through thick treacle. The surprise on his face was matched only by the surprise on the princess’, but lasted nowhere near as long, mostly due to the crossbow bolt that embedded itself in his eye.

The snowflake vanished as Weiss realised what she’d done, and the assassin’s sword clinked as it bounced off the stone floor, and he fell to the ground. “Umm…” The princess looked between the two guards and then again at the assassin.

“We need to get you to the throne room, the Queen and the entirety of the Royal Guard is there, they can protect you until all the assassins have been found and dealt with.” The princess tilted her head slightly as she looked at the two guards again, and they exchanged a quick, worried glance before looking back at the princess.

“Okay then.” Immediately sprinting out the door, the two guards scrambled to catch up to her. Whilst they were running, Weiss was slightly surprised at how easily the princess ran whilst still holding onto the scythe.

They reached the throne room quickly and without incident. The purple-cloaked guards that stood outside the towering double doors lowered their halberds to form a barrier. Upon recognising the princess between the two guards, they raised the weapons and opened the door, one of them entering with her. The remaining guards nodded to Weiss and the other guard who had accompanied the princess and allowed them to enter with her.

“Ruby! Thank the Gods that you’re safe!” A tall, muscular blonde woman in tight fitting leather armour with golden gauntlets on came sprinting over to the trio and grabbed the princess in a bear hug, spinning round with her.

“Yaaaaaang…” The princess whined in a very un-royal like manner, as she pushed against the older girl’s shoulders and kicked her feet to be let go. Once the tall girl finally let the princess go, she scrambled back a little bit, moving slightly closer to Weiss and the other guard to prevent another bone crushing hug.

“And these two guards are…?” A second, silkier voice floated over to the group, and a third woman, this time with flowing black hair and two pointed cat ears, appeared at the blonde’s shoulder. She was also dressed in similarly tight-fitting leather armour as well; only this time there was a golden circlet around her brow, encircling the cat ears.

Weiss and Penny both dropped to one knee in sync, recognising the two women for who they were: The Queens. “Weiss Neige your Majesties.”

“Penny Polendina your Majesties.”

Queen Yang waved a hand, “Come on, up up up, I’m not fussed about kneeling from guards.” She waited until Weiss and Penny had stood up before continuing, “So, how come you both appeared at the same time as my little sister here?” Both guards could hear a faint undercurrent of steel in her voice.

“Why are you asking them? Didn’t you send them when you heard about the assassin’s?” Ruby spoke up before either Weiss or Penny could get a word in.

“I mean I did send guards, but it was a full squad from the Royal Guards, and they haven’t returned yet.” Yang turned slightly to look at her Queen who nodded and swept away immediately.

Ruby looked at Weiss and Penny with a strange look, “Wait, so if you’re not part of the group that was sent why did you…”

She was interrupted by the arrival of the other Queen and Guard Commander Goodwitch, an imposing woman, small half circles of glass on the end of her nose, and a long, coiled whip resting on her hip. She was a stern looking woman and the head of every division of all the guards in the castle. Weiss gulped, she’d not been on the wrong end of the Commander before, but knew she was inherently strict. 

Fair, but very strict.

“Guardsman Neige, Crossbow-man Polendina, I’m curious as to why you’re not at your assigned posts this evening.” A single eyebrow was raised in question and they both felt a shiver run down their spine. The voice was not one that suffered liars.

“I heard the assassins were after the Princess and wanted to help her.” Penny spoke up first and Weiss just nodded in agreement.

“And yet that’s why the Royal Guard exist. Do you both believe yourselves either worthy of joining their ranks or possibly that you’re better than them? Despite neither of you having half the training or experience even the lowest member does?” Her arms crossed, Commander Goodwitch stared down at Penny and Weiss.

“You say that Commander, but they both made it to my bedroom before the Royal Guard did and killed the fourth assassin in my room.” Everyone was surprised to hear Princess Ruby speak up and turned to look at her. Weiss noticed that the crimson scythe she had been holding the entire time had vanished but couldn’t see where to.

“I appreciate that your Highness, however they still deserted their posts.”

“So why not give them new ones?”

“Your Highness?” Everyone turned to Queen Blake at her words.

“Regardless of what they should have been doing, they both made it to Ruby’s quarters faster than the Royal Guard and killed an assassin. That shows they’re both dedicated to protecting her at all costs, as I assume they both know the dangers of disobeying direct orders, never mind crossing you.” She inclined one hand towards the Commander. Unsurprisingly, the two Queens knew of the Commander’s reputation.

Weiss looked away, not wanting to meet Commander Goodwitch’s eyes as they roamed back to her.

“What are you suggesting your Highness?”

“Well, my Queen has been trying to convince our sister to accept bodyguards for a little while now, especially considering the…more detailed and believable threats we’ve received recently. Perhaps these two guards should be reassigned to that position?”

Queen Yang grinned widely at her wife’s words, “Absolutely! It wouldn’t be a reward exactly, as the hours are much longer and harder than in the positions they already have, plus it would hopefully be a lot more boring. And they’d have to put up with my hyperactive little sister.” At that she grabbed Princess Ruby again and started messing her hair up, causing the Princess to push against her once more and lean backwards to get out of her older sister’s reach. “I agree the Royal Guards are the more elite soldiers, however seeing as Ruby refuses to have them as bodyguards, perhaps these two could, if nothing else, work well as delays until the more highly trained Royal Guard arrive, should the need arise.” Penny was a little shocked at the bluntness with which Queen Yang had effectively called them meat shields but could see why. The Queen wanted the two guards to know the downside to the choice of bodyguard or face Commander Goodwitch.

“I…can see the merit in that suggestion your Highnesses.”

Weiss and Penny looked at each other quickly, and then to the Princess who had managed to extricate herself and was now standing on her own, a little awkwardly, one arm holding the other elbow in front of her. Weiss couldn’t help but feel that she looked very alone, and a pang of pain and sympathy shot through her.

“Do I not get a say in this at all?”

“No.” Three voices sounded out as the two Queens and the Guard Commander spoke in unison.

Princess Ruby pouted slightly, looking with narrowed eyes at the three older women. “Fine then. If I have to. Although on one condition.”

“Depends what it is little sis.”

“They get training to bring them up to the same level as the Royal Guards. I don’t want to have two people become little more than sacrifices to keep me alive.” Penny smiled, glad to know that even though the Princess didn’t know them, she still didn’t want to just have them there to die.

“Deal! I’m happy with that. Commander?” Queen Yang turned to face the Commander who nodded curtly, a little put out that two low level guards had suddenly been elevated to status of bodyguards to the Princess. However, the Commander was also smart enough to understand that sometimes compromise was necessary, especially when it came to Queen Yang. “Great! Weiss Neige and Penny Polendina, by order of the Crown of Vale you are now the designated Royal Protectors for Princess Ruby. We’ll sort the details out later, but you might as well introduce yourselves to each other properly now, you’re going to be spending a lot of time together from now on.” Winking at the two guards, causing Weiss to blush slightly, the two Queens and the Commander walked away, leaving the three women alone together. Well, as alone as they could be in a hall half-filled with courtiers and guards.

“So…looks like I’m stuck with the pair of you.” The two guards turned to face the brunette Princess, “I’m Ruby Rose, pleased to meet you both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calling Weiss ‘Weiss Neige’ is because of ‘reasons’ that will become apparent if I continue with this fic later down the line, which I hopefully will do, just need to plan it out more first. But I wanted to keep the same Snow White name, which is why it’s now in German and French.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss prepares to move to her new quarters and start her job as a royal protector to the Princess of Vale.

Weiss rolled her shoulder as she walked back into the barracks, her sword safely in the scabbard on her left hip and looked around the room for possibly the last time. She’d spent more hours than she could count in the barracks and training ground nearby, and it was as close to home as anywhere she’d lived before. She wandered over to her bunk and pulled the roughly hewn wooden chest out from underneath it, which contained all her possessions other than her uniforms and weapon. The chest was mostly empty, a bag with some coins in it from her last pay, a slightly larger bag with more coins in that she’d been saving up, along with a couple of small wood carvings, a larger bag that could carry everything, and a single heavy key with a number inscribed on it. Weiss pulled it out and put it in her pocket and straightened up, pulling the rest of the items out of her chest to put in the largest bag on her bunk before closing the chest and sliding it back under.

“Weiss! There you are! Fuck girl, the Captain is going to kill you when he sees you!” Weiss looked to the door as two of her squad mates came through, one blonde and the other blue haired, but both tall. Whilst the one with blue hair had spoken, the two wore identical expressions of relief and worry.

“No, he won’t Neptune.” Weiss’ voice was as tired as she felt. After introducing themselves properly to Princess Ruby, her and Penny had spent the remaining two hours in the lockdown going over the role and what was expected of them both with Commander Goodwitch. It boiled down to following the Princess everywhere, and if there were any assassin’s or anyone attempting to harm her, to either stop them, delay them long enough for the Royal Guards to arrive, or to just get in the way of the blade and let the other strike down the assassin. It wasn’t a position the Commander expected either of them to hold for long, either because the Princess would come to her senses and allow proper Royal Guards to look after her, or because an assassin would kill them.

“Weiss, he’s _furious_. He pretty much announced to the squad that you’re done for.” Neptune had rushed up to her side, “Seriously, you better have a good excuse or...well I don’t want to see what he’d do to you.”

Weiss laughed humourlessly, “Oh, I’ve got an excuse. I’m not sure if it’s a good one or not though.”

“Where’d you go anyway? There were _assassins_ in the castle! Like fucking assassins!” The blonde had joined them, crouching on the bunk next to Weiss’.

“I know there were assassins Sun, I fought one.”

“Whoa! You did _what_?!” Sun nearly fell off the bunk in shock, and Neptune’s mouth dropped.

“You’ll probably hear about it soon; we all know what gossip is like in the castle.” Weiss tried to brush it off, but the damage was done.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily! Start talking. How? When? What happened? And why didn’t you take us with you?” Sun had gone back to his crouch only this time he was leaning forward, ready to be engrossed in the story.

“NEIGE! What the fuck is this I hear from Commander Goodwitch?” A loud booming voice ripped through the barracks as a tall, barrel chested man charged into the room.

Neptune let out a quick “Eep!” and leaped to stand next to Weiss and Sun who had also jumped to stand at the end of their bunks.

“Captain.” Weiss nodded at the man and bowed at the waist slightly, Sun and Neptune copying her.

“Answer the question Neige. Is this shit I hear from the Commander true?” He towered over Weiss, although it wasn’t a hard feat as she stood at just over five feet tall.

“I believe so sir, I’m to be used as a human meat shield for the Princess.” Weiss figured deeply underplaying the role and responsibility she’d been given was probably her best bet to reach the new job in one piece. Their captain wasn’t the most patient of men, but he was generally fair. One thing that he did hate though was when he was disrespected or stood up. And not turning up to an all hands call due to assassins in the castle had probably shown him an insane amount of disrespect in his eyes. Weiss still wasn’t sure what had been running through her head when she had gone off to search for the assassins herself.

“That’s different to how the Commander put it.” The captain's voice had lost some of the edge, but none of the anger. It seemed underplaying her role hadn’t been the Commander’s approach with her captain, so Weiss switched to full truth.

“I’ve been told to report to the Princess as one of her personal bodyguards. Queen Yang said that I could be useful delaying any assassins until the Royal Guard arrives to deal with the assailant sir.” Weiss continued to stare straight ahead as she talked, despite the gasps that emanated from either side of her from Sun and Neptune.

“That matches what the Commander told me. Explains why you thought you could run off from the all hands call and not expect to be punished.” The captain looked her up and down, Weiss trying not to flinch. Whilst he’d never killed anyone for disrespect, he’d beaten people before. Then again, nobody had ever vanished from an all hands call in his squad before. “The next time the assassins come by you best make sure you’re between their blade and the Princess, even if it kills you.” He leaned in close to talk into her ear, not bothering to whisper, “If you’re not, I’ll do the job myself. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir.” Weiss nodded and bowed again as he stepped back.

He looked at Sun and Neptune, “The Commander said this wouldn’t ever happen again, so don’t think you could pull a similar stunt as her just to get in the same squad again. Try it and you’ll get exactly what she would have done if the Queens hadn’t stepped in.” He left the room, but not before he turned to look at Weiss again. “I mean it Neige. Do not let a single head of hair on our Princess get harmed, understand?”

Weiss nodded but he’d already left, believing his threats to have done their job. Which they had. She sighed heavily, “Great. If the assassins don’t kill me, the captain will.”

“No no no, we’ll cover that in a minute. Jump back to the bit where you’re now a personal bodyguard for the _Princess_?!” Neptune’s jaw was almost on the floor as Sun waved his hands in front of Weiss.

Weiss sighed, “It’s like the Captain said. I went looking for the assassins, found another guard who was doing the same thing as me. We found the Princess and killed an assassin. The Queens suggested that we become the bodyguards for the Princess and pretty much said that we would be meat shields to keep her alive until the Royal Guard gets there.”

“You got to meet the Queens?! Why didn’t you take us along?” Sun sounded honestly annoyed, and Weiss could have slapped herself. She chose to punch his arm instead.

“ _Because_ , you dunderhead, three of us would have been noticed far faster than just one of us.” _And then you’d have gotten caught along with me because of my damn pride._

“And because you didn’t want us to get caught and be in trouble along with you, right Snow Angel?” Neptune threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug, a smirk on his face.

“That is absolutely _not_ what I was thinking! And don’t touch me!” Weiss wriggled out from under Neptune’s arm and gave him a small shove that sent him next to Sun. Whilst her voice sounded annoyed, she couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face. The two idiots in front of her had been her first, and so far only, friends in the city of Vale since she’d arrived, and they’d never once questioned her past, or let her push them away, no matter how many times she’d tried in the last. She used to hate them for it, but now she knew they were the closest friends she had.

She sighed, “You two idiots better be alright without me here to keep an eye on you.” Weiss gave the pair a glare, “I swear, somehow I’m most of your impulse control. I still don’t know how that happened.”

Sun laughed, “It happened because we’re your best friends and we refused to let you mope and be a loner! Seriously though, you best come visit us as often as you can, I want to hear all about what you do!”

“Pfft don’t lie to her Sun, you just want the castle gossip.”

“Like you don’t dude! You’re worse than me!”

Neptune pouted, crossing his arms. “I’m an intellectual! So, it makes sense that I want to know as much information as possible.”

Weiss couldn’t help smirking as the two bickered, and she bent down to grab the bag she’d filled with her small collection of possessions, as well as the heavy key. “I’ll leave you two alone to decide if you’re _‘intellectuals’_ , or just gossipmongers.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Neptune held his hands up, “Just be sure to come back and visit us, and not only to tell us the gossip!”

“I don’t know how much free time I’ll get, the Commander made it seem pretty full time.” Weiss shrugged, but Sun shook his head.

“Nah, you’ll find time. And ignore what the Captain said, don’t die!” His face lost the jovial look, and took on a serious and more caring expression, “Seriously, you’re our friend. Make sure you don’t die y’hear me?”

“Who do you think I am? You know I was the best in the squad, do you really think I’d roll over and die that easily?” Weiss almost snorted and she couldn’t help the haughtiness in her tone, but her smile soothed it for the other two.

“I know, just wanted to be sure that you’d focus on staying alive, and not throwing yourself in front of the blade as the first option.” Sun’s soft smile was mirrored by Neptune.

Weiss rolled her eyes and headed out the door, the other’s final words reaching her ears and making her smirk again. “Don’t wait too long before coming back!”

“And remember to bring us information about what’s happening in the castle! As an _intellectual_ , it helps to know what’s going on.”

“Dude! You’re not an intellectual, you just love gossip…”

Their return to the bickering was lost to Weiss’ ears as she strode up to the main keep and towards the Princess’ quarters, dodging hurrying messengers and servants as she went. As she walked, she tried to pay more attention to the walls, having rushed through them the night before, and not noticed the tapestries adorning the walls. She wasn’t worried about getting lost, having memorised the layout of the castle back when she’d been assigned to the castle guards, a requirement she never knew how Sun had got past - his sense of direction wasn’t the best. 

...And that was being kind.

She arrived at the Princess’ quarters to find the ginger haired crossbow-man Penny standing outside the door next to the Princess’ bedroom. A purple clad Royal Guard was standing outside the Princess’ room, but upon seeing Weiss, she nodded at the pair and left. _Guess our job officially starts now then._

“Sal-u-tations! I am very glad to see you again Guardsman Weiss! I have not entered our room as I was unsure what the arrangements would be like and did not want to assume anything or make decisions without consulting you.” Penny rapped off a casual salute that had Weiss raising an eyebrow.

“I’m no longer a guardsman anymore Penny, just like you’re no longer a crossbow-man. We’re both bodyguards.” Weiss didn’t return the salute but did look Penny over. Despite no longer being officially a member of the crossbow corps, Penny still had the standard outfitting of one: a crossbow strapped to her back, a quiver of bolts on one hip, and a short sword on the other. The armour was light and less bulky or well protected like Weiss’ was, but it did the job of allowing Penny more freedom of movement. Weiss’ had been designed for fighting blade to blade, so had chainmail mixed in with the leather at key points to enhance the protection, whereas Penny’s looked like just leather.

Penny nodded, “Very well then. What are you comfortable with being called?”

Weiss looked at her strangely, nobody had ever asked her that before. The higher ups called her Neige, if they knew and used her name, the others in her squad just used Neige as well. Even Sun and Neptune had just called her by her first name until she got used to it. So a choice was...different.

“Weiss. Just call me Weiss.”

“Certainly Weiss, my name is Penny! Shall we go in?” Penny indicated the door and Weiss nodded before turning the ring and going inside. When they went inside Weiss took a moment to look around the room she’d be sleeping in for the foreseeable future before moving further in.

The walls were mostly bare apart from a window at the far end, between two simple bunks. Each bunk had a chest at the end, a key in the lock and a larger key that seemed to be for the door lying on top of it, and there was a dresser against one wall. A basin and jug were on a small table near the dresser, and opposite the dresser was a smaller door. Weiss moved towards it and looked inside, allowing a small smile to cross her face at the seemingly private bathroom they shared, which was a definite upgrade from the communal latrine shared by her entire squad.

Moving back into the bedroom, she looked at Penny who was staring at her, “Do you have any objections if I take this bunk?” She indicated the right-hand bunk and Weiss shook her head, moving to the left one, depositing her bag in the chest, then locking it and taking the key from the top of the chest, whilst Penny did the same before straightening up.

Weiss looked at Penny and pointed at the door, “Shall we go start our new roles?” Penny nodded, and they both headed out, Weiss pulling the door closed and locking it before putting the key in a pouch. She straightened her leather armour slightly before knocking loudly on the door. “Your highness? May we come in?”


	3. Small Council and a Trainer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Penny experience their first small council meeting before meeting up with their trainer from the Royal Guard, a highly recognisable figure.

“And finally, on the agenda, there is the matter of the Yuletide Ball. I believe it is the turn of Duke Port to host this year.” A small groan went round the table at the man’s words, and from what Weiss had heard of the man she could sympathise; Duke Port had a reputation for boasting beyond any sense of reality and turning any conversation to his own heightened and imaginary prowess. 

The three of them were in the small council room, large windows letting natural light stream in, although several brackets lined the room to hold torches in case any meetings ran into the night. The heavy oak door that was the main way into the room had small runes carved into it at various points, and several lines of magic ran from each rune to the other. Unless you had some level of magical sight however, the door was completely plain and the runes invisible. Weiss had avoided looking directly at them, knowing that they were hidden and so could only guess at their purpose from the quick glance she managed to grab when they were walking up the corridor and into the room. 

The centre of the room held a large wooden table with multiple chairs at various points, as well as three wooden carved maps built into the table. One map was of the city, carved to astounding detail, showing every street and building within the city walls. The next showed the kingdom of Vale and their outer borders, and the final map was of the main continent of Remnant, from the frozen tundra of Atlas in the North, South through temperate Mistral and Vale, and then West to the deserts of Vacuo. The two maps had been covered in a clear glaze that strengthened them and gave a flat surface.

Ruby sat at the table, with Weiss and Penny standing behind her. Also at the table were various advisors of the kingdom, leaders of the different divisions and areas, from the treasury to the Commander of the castle guard - both Weiss and Penny spent the meeting actively trying to avoid looking directly at Commander Goodwitch. Also seated were a few assistants making notes for their respective superiors, the treasury assistant having made the most notes so far.

Ruby sighed, “I know that nobody has much love for the Duke, but I also know nobody harbours any real ill will towards him...except when he’s had more than two cups of wine and he gets started on the tale of how he saved my grandfather.” A few chuckles came from the room and Ruby smirked along with them, the story was a long and well known one, nearly everyone in the room having been cornered at one party or other. The tale was also mostly false, but any contradictions made to the Duke were just ignored and he continued as if nothing had been said. Ruby looked to the treasury official, “What was the budget for the ball last year?”

The official looked to their assistant who shuffled a few papers before pulling one out and handing it over, “It was two hundred gold to help balance the coffers for the host.”

Ruby looked around, “Does anyone have any objections?” Nobody raised any and several shook their heads. “Then we’ll discuss the allocation of guards closer to the time, and I declare this meeting of the small council at an end.”

As the Princess, Ruby was the last to leave, the only other one who waited for everyone else to leave was the main scribe, a thin balding man who bowed hurriedly and scampered out of the room. Ruby leaned back and yawned, stretching her arms out. “So, how was your first small council meeting?” She looked at the two bodyguards.

“I found it interesting. I did not know that nearly every decision has to be debated and agreed.” Penny was, in Weiss’ eyes, surprisingly agreeable to it. Even she had thought that she’d maybe enjoy it, as she did like it when things were organised, but then again, she’d never felt the need to quibble over fifteen silver on a budget of one and a half thousand gold. “Do you have to go to all of them?”

“Yep!” Ruby popped the p, “Yang thinks I should understand how the council comes to a decision.” Weiss tried - and failed - to hide the slight wince. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just Penny who noticed. “Not a fan of the meetings then?”

“I...no. I apologise for giving that impression Princess.” Weiss lowered her head, waiting for the reprimand she expected.

“Pfft it’s fine, I don’t enjoy them much either, I’d rather be in the workshop, but Yang says that I _have_ to learn how to govern a kingdom just in case the throne goes to me. I don’t know why, when the mages finally work out how to get her or Blake pregnant then the throne will just go to the kid right? And I can be the badass auntie!” Ruby laughed as she walked on, not realising that both Weiss and Penny had stopped in their tracks. When she didn’t receive any reply, she turned to look at them, then spun to see both her bodyguards several paces behind her standing still in shock. “What?”

Penny and Weiss looked at each other before back at Ruby, “Are you sure we’re allowed to know that information?”

Ruby thought for a moment, “Probably not no, but you’re supposed to be with me at all times, so you’d have found it out at some point.” She shrugged, “Besides, the only people who know are us three and the mages who are researching it, so if it leaks then I know where it’s come from!” She laughed again and Weiss and Penny hurried to catch up to her walking away.

Weiss started to feel nervous as they headed towards the lower floors of the castle, and she could see that Penny felt similar from the uneasy look on her face. This was the point that they had both been equally excited and nervous for: Their first training session with the Royal Guard.

When they reached the ground floor, they followed the corridors around and stepped outside, the well-trodden path leading to a standalone building. Inside there was a large circular area covered in sand, with fences lining the outer edge, and a separate area as well as several dummies and racks of weapons on one wall. A few purple cloaked guards walked purposefully from one of the side rooms, bowing their heads at the Princess who nodded her own head in response. In the middle of the sandy area a tall woman with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail was spinning with a short, blunted spear in one hand, a circular shield in the other, as two other guards attacked, one with a large hammer, the other with twin knives, also clearly blunted. The first guard ducked under the hammer, bashing the end of it with the shield whilst simultaneously blocking both knives with the spear. The guard with the knives let go of them and they dropped below the spear, and he whipped his hands underneath it to grab them both and surge forwards, only for the slashes to be met with the shield that had somehow been moved to cover the woman’s side.

A loud cry sounded from the hammer-wielder who swung it at the back of the first guard’s head. She pushed with her shield and spun, ducking underneath the hammer swing, slapping at the woman’s side with her spear, before jabbing the back of the hammer-wielder’s neck. “Awwwww no fair! You always get me first!” The hammer wielder was a woman, surprising Weiss a little as she hadn’t expected anyone wielding such a heavy looking hammer to be female, and the guard uniform didn’t really show any difference between the male and female bodies, being mostly plate and chain mail, unlike the uniform Weiss and Penny wore, which was mostly a mix of leather and chainmail, and thus a little bit more fitted. The other guard with knives lasted only a few more seconds once the red headed guard could focus solely on him, and he fell to a couple of jabs to the stomach.

“You’re both doing wonderfully! But you still leave yourself open to counters Nora, and Ren you need to work on your one on one, but your teamwork is excellent!” The redheaded guard was barely even breathing hard as the three walked towards the exit of the arena and to where Ruby, Weiss, and Penny were standing. “Oh, hello again!” The redheaded guard smiled widely and waved at Ruby before bowing her head, Nora and Ren both bowing much deeper to Ruby. It was only when the redhead got closer that Weiss realised who she was and gasped.

“Oh Brother’s, that’s Pyrrha Nikos!” Weiss was barely whispering to Penny in excitement.

Ruby looked at her, “You’ve heard of her?”

“Of course, I have! She won more tourney’s than any knight ever, was literally untouchable in her last two, and then joined the Royal Guard. She’s a living legend!” By this time Pyrrha had almost reached them but was still talking with Nora and Ren giving the pair more pointers. Fortunately, she hadn’t seemed to have heard Weiss’ miniature freak out, nor seen it.

“Hey Pyrrha!” Ruby grinned at the Royal Guard who smiled back warmly, “This is Weiss and Penny.”

“Hello!” Pyrrha smiled at the pair and waved before putting her hands behind her back. “I take it that you two are the ones protecting Princess Ruby?”

“Come on Pyrrha, I keep telling you to just call me Ruby!” The Princess laughed as Pyrrha shook her head, but she was still smiling.

“You know I can’t do that, your Highness.”

“Well, I’m just going to keep asking until you do one day.” Ruby turned to Weiss and Penny, “They’re all yours Pyrrha.” She moved to the side to leave enough room for Weiss and Penny to walk into the area before leaning on the fence that ran around the edge.

“Thank you.” Pyrrha turned to look at the two bodyguards standing slightly nervously in front of her. “Shall we get started?”

\-------------------------------------

“Did you find out who your trainer from the Royal Guard is yet?” Sun was leaning against the wall with his arms behind his head.

Weiss grimaced slightly, the bruise on her cheek showing up a little more, and she nodded.

“Well, whoever they are, they clearly pack a hell of a punch!” Neptune leaned in a little closer to look at her cheek.

“Yeah...she does.”

“Are you alright? Do we need to have a chat with anyone?” The dazed tone to her voice must have come across differently to the pair as Sun had pushed off from the wall and stood next to Neptune, both of them looking serious.

“What? No. Don’t be stupid, you’d lose. There’s no way you’d beat Pyrrha Nikos. At anything.” Weiss shook her head in disbelief but didn’t ignore the warm feeling that the two idiots in front of her were willing to avenge her honour, even if it was just a bruise from her not being careful enough.

“Pyrrha Nikos?! _The_ Pyrrha Nikos is your trainer?” Neptune’s jaw had dropped and for the first time in a long time Weiss could see that Sun was speechless.

“Yeah.”

“I guess she punched you as part of a training fight?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you do?” Sun was still just staring at her, gobsmacked that the famous Pyrrha Nikos was Weiss’ trainer, with Neptune doing all of the talking.

“I thanked her.”

Neptune’s brows furrowed as he tried to wrap his brain around what Weiss had just said. “You thanked her...and then she punched you? That’s weird.”

“No. She punched me. Then I thanked her.”

Sun finally managed to speak, “So you’re telling me that you got punched in the face by Pyrrha Nikos, and you thanked her for it?”

Weiss looked away, the blush creeping up her neck. “Yes.”

Sun burst out laughing, and Weiss watched him as he bent almost double, laughing like crazy, before finally straightening up to wipe a tear from his eye. “Brother’s above Ice Queen, you’re absolutely use…”

“Fuck off Sun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to get Pyrrha in there somewhere! And yes Weiss has a small crush on Pyrrha (because let's face it, who doesn't??)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby finally questions Weiss about what happened the night her and Penny rescued her.

The last couple of weeks had been quite busy with several small council meetings and several training sessions with Pyrrha. Weiss had wanted to curl up and die the second time she saw Pyrrha after thanking her for punching her in the face, but she’d finally got over it part way through the third training session. Now Weiss and Penny were following Ruby down a corridor on one of the lower floors until they reached a wooden door that, similar to the small council room, was decorated with runes and lines of magical writing. Ruby reached out and grasped the handle for a few moments before turning it and opening the door.

Weiss watched as the lines shimmered and changed. She didn’t understand the magic but guessed it was some kind of locking spell that was keyed to Ruby. She’d mentioned a few times about wanting to get back to her workshop, however with the enhanced security left over from the last time assassins got in, plus the increase in small council meetings, she’d been unable to spend any decent amount of time there. The number of small council meetings had shrunk, so even though the castle was still on a higher state of alert, Ruby felt she’d be able to get some decent time in the workshop uninterrupted.

She opened the door fully and beckoned the two guards to come closer to the door. “Hold the handle with your weaker hand.” Weiss reached out for it with her right and gripped it tightly. Ruby pulled a small silver knife from a pouch on her hip and carefully sketched another rune onto the door. It brightened for a moment before fading and sinking into the woodwork. Ruby motioned for Weiss to let go and she traded places with Penny, the Princess repeating the process. Once it was done Ruby stepped around the door out of the doorway and motioned for Weiss and Penny to enter, which they did, Ruby closing the door behind them.

Weiss heard Penny gasp as she looked around the room and she couldn’t blame her. The room was large and brightly lit, torches flaring into life around the edge as the door shut, revealing the open space. Multiple tables lined the walls, alongside an open forge that was dark and quiet, an anvil next to it and a smelting oven a little further down the wall. A line of grates ran along the wall, clearly strongly made to stop anything coming through from outside but designed to still allow the smoke to leave the room. Various tools hung from hooks attached to the wall and two cabinets were on the opposite side to the forge, both closed. Scraps of parchment were scattered across the central tables, and a few stools were dotted around them, charcoal sticks in groups on each table for easy access.

Ruby slipped between them as they continued to stare and sat at one of the tables pulling a larger piece of parchment closer to her and grabbing a stick of charcoal, twirling it around her fingers as she waited for her two bodyguards to finish gawping at her workshop. Realising that Ruby was waiting for them they moved and sat down opposite her, both of them casting a quick glance across the various half-finished sketches and scrawled notes that were visible.

“So, Weiss, where did you learn your magic?” Weiss spluttered at Ruby’s sudden bluntness, and Penny blinked several times before looking at Weiss.

“I...I’m sorry your Highness?”

“Your magic. The shield you cast on the night we first met, I’ve never seen that type of magic before, where’d you learn it? And I’ve told you to just call me Ruby when it’s us three.”

Weiss leaned back a little at Ruby’s direct gaze, the silver eyes staring directly into her own. “I don’t know what you mean? I can’t do any magic.”

“You definitely did _something_ , and I can’t think of anything it could be other than magic. You saw it too didn’t you Penny?” Ruby looked at the other guard whose eyes flicked between Ruby and Weiss, clearly caught in a dilemma.

“I...do not remember seeing Weiss cast any magic. Hiccup!” Penny clasped a hand over her mouth as she hiccupped loudly, before she continued. “It’s against the laws of the kingdom to be a rogue mage, and the only other way she could do magic is if she was a member of a royal family somewhere. I do not believe any member of a royal family would choose to hide amongst castle guards in a different kingdom.”

“Hmm” Ruby looked at Penny for a moment, eyes staring, and Penny felt the gaze look right through her. “That’s true, you have to be either a royal or a rogue mage.” She turned back to Weiss, “So which is it? A runaway royal or a rogue mage?” She crossed her arms and waited for the response. “I’m not going to tell Yang or Blake, or even Commander Goodwitch if that’s what you’re worried about.” Weiss felt her stomach roll with a mix of fear and anger, and she clenched her fists under the table, feeling the gloved fingers dig into her palms.

“I said I’ve not cast any magic, and my answer isn’t changing.” Weiss crossed her arms too and stared right back at Ruby, her eyes narrowing a little at the Princess’ distrust in her words.

“You cast _something_ that night we met, it slowed the assassin down massively, and potentially saved my life. I know what I saw. I’m not going to tell anyone who’d care, I just want you to admit it.”

“I. Can’t. Do. Magic.” Weiss emphasised each word clearly, “Why is that so hard to believe?” She was trying to keep her voice under control, but the lack of belief was starting to have an effect on her.

“Aargh!” Ruby got up and stomped away to the forge, grabbing hold of a small orange crystal lying on the edge of the bricks and throwing it into the forge, sending it roaring to life. She whirled around to face the pair, the heat of the fire burning in the heart of the forge illuminating her and giving her an otherworldly glow from behind. Her hair was lit up and the red burned even brighter than normal, the black ends in contrast somehow seemed darker and melded with the shadows. Her eyes were the brightest things visible on her face, reflecting the flickering torches that now seemed dim by comparison. “By the Brother’s just _admit it!_ I know what I saw, and I want you to teach me!”

Weiss and Penny were speechless as they stared at Ruby, the light decreasing as the forge settled to a more regular and longer lasting glow, still a deep orange, but no longer dwarfing the torches. This meant Ruby’s face came back into clarity, although her silver eyes continued to reflect the torch light, making them brighter than the other aspects of her face.

“You want Weiss to teach you?” Penny managed to recover from her lack of speech first, and it distracted Ruby from glaring at Weiss.

“ _Yes_. I’ve had tutors from the Mages Academy, but they were boring, they never wanted to cover any of the useful stuff like enchanting or fighting. It’s all...why can I smell burning?” Ruby cut herself off halfway through and sniffed, looking thoroughly perplexed. She turned around and her cloak was on fire at the bottom, the flames licking upwards slightly. “Shit!” She grabbed at the silver clasp and threw her cloak off onto a table slapping at it with her hands to smother the fire and Penny and Weiss jumped up to join her, doing a far more effective job with their gloves.

Once the flames had been extinguished, Ruby sighed and put her hand over her face. “Please. One of you two remind me to look up the enchantment for resist fire later. I never remember to do it except when I’m down here.” She lowered her hand to stare at the singed edges of her cloak, the blackness of the burnt cloth now strangely matching her hair almost. Ruby leaned back and groaned, “Urgh, Yang’s gonna laugh at me so hard, this is like the sixth time I’ve done this.”

They both nodded and then the three lapsed into silence for a few moments before Weiss finally broke it.

“Why would you want me to teach you?”

Ruby looked up at her, staring right into Weiss’ eyes. “Because I’m of royal blood. I need to know how to use magic properly, not just the boring and weird stuff that the Academy does, magic that’s actually useful! I can do basic enchantments and that’s about it. I’m not into the whole summoning spirits and stuff like that. Creeps me out…” Ruby shuddered, “And most of the rest is illusions or tricks, but I want to learn about magic that’s useful in a fight, or more advanced enchantments so I can make things that are useful!” She sat down and put her head in her hands, “I know how to forge a weapon, my dad and uncle both say I’ve got a natural talent for it. The next step is enchanting the weapons so that they’re more useful than just a chunk of metal.”

Weiss tentatively sat down opposite Ruby, “Wouldn’t they just teach you whatever you wanted to know, I mean you’re the princess, so they have to obey you right?”

Ruby chuckled, “I wish. When it comes to matters of magic, they obey Yang and Blake and that’s it. Especially with training new mages, they refused to teach me anything to do with fighting magic as they can’t attack me, even with my permission. To learn anything else I’d have to spend loads of time in the library, but I’m pretty bad at studying.” She rubbed the back of her neck with an awkward look on her face.

Penny was silent as she sat down at the end of the table, feeling very out of place. Her knowledge of magic was very limited, so she stayed quiet as the other two spoke. Ruby sighed and looked at Weiss, “Please? Yang set aside a training room specifically for me to practice magic a while back, so we can use that as it’ll be totally private. Penny can stand guard outside so nobody could interrupt us and discover you know magic. I promise to be a good student and listen to you…” Weiss looked at Ruby’s face and her silver eyes were wide, eyebrows curled up, and her bottom lip was actually poking out a little in a small pout.

“Err…” Weiss leaned back a little and looked at Penny for help, but she was staring at Ruby. Weiss looked at the table and whispered her next words, hoping that she could believe the princess. “You promise?”

“Yup! On my title as a Royal Princess of Vale.”

Weiss sighed, feeling defeated. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

“Yes!” Ruby pumped her fist in the air, “What’s your magic? Is it shielding? Were you taught it? Is it bloodline magic? How much do you know? Are you a royal or a rogue mage? How did you…”

“Princess!” Weiss held her hands up and leant back against the onslaught of questions that were spewing from her mouth.

“Oops! Hehe, sorry about that. Got a little carried away there.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, “Please, just...one question at a time.”

“Are you a royal or a rogue mage?”

“I’m not answering that. I’ll teach you what I can do, and I’ll help with research, but I’m not going to say anything about where I come from or why I know magic. You also have to swear, and I _mean_ swear, not to tell anyone about me teaching you magic. Both of you.” Weiss glared at both Ruby and Penny, and Penny nodded quickly.

“Absolutely! I swear to not tell a single soul about your unknown magical abilities.” Penny saluted, and Weiss turned to look at Ruby, raising an eyebrow.

“But I already promised? Fine. I swear on my title as the Royal Princess of Vale that I will not tell a soul about your magical abilities and you teaching me. I’ll have to tell Yang that you’re helping me study though, otherwise she’ll wonder why I’m suddenly learning magic again, especially from books. I won’t tell her that you can actually do magic yourself though.”

Weiss thought about it for a moment before nodding. “I can accept that.” She let out a breath that she had been holding until they both swore. “The magic I used the night we saved you was bloodline magic, so I can’t teach you _that_ , but I know some similar spells I can teach you. I’ve got a decent range of magic, but I know very little about enchanting weapons.”

Ruby nodded, “Okay that’s fine, are you...are you any good at studying? I know I’ll need to learn from the books in the library so maybe you could help with that?”

Weiss sighed again, “Fine, I can help with that too.”

“Yay!” Penny giggled a little at seeing how happy Ruby was, her grin stretching across her face. “Oh! Wait! What about Penny? You could teach her too, that way we can all learn magic together and she won’t be left out!”

Penny’s eyes widened suddenly; she hadn’t been prepared for that suggestion at all.

“How would I teach Penny? If she’s inside the training room with me, then who would guard the door?”

“Me!” Ruby puffed her chest out, “I’d be a great guard.”

“That would defeat the point of us being personal bodyguards if neither of us are guarding you.”

“Excuse me!” Weiss and Ruby turned to look at Penny who was blushing a little at her outburst, “Umm, I don’t believe I have any magical talent at all. I remember the academy testing me when I was young, and they said I had no aptitude for it.”

Ruby waved her hand, “Pfft, anyone can learn magic, they just need to have their aura unlocked.”

“Is that really true?” Penny’s voice was surprised, and she looked at Weiss who nodded.

“It is, just not having any aptitude for it makes it harder to learn.”

Penny looked thoughtful for a moment, “I’m not overly sure about learning magic. I think if I learnt it as well, then it could be difficult to hide it as all three of us would be able to use it, when it should just be Princess Ruby. Also, Weiss is right in that you would not be able to guard the door when I would be learning, and somebody needs to keep watch so that you do not get caught. Thank you for the offer, but I think I will decline it. I would prefer not to learn magic.”

Ruby looked at her for a few moments before nodding, “Okay. That makes sense, and I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.” Her face suddenly brightened up with glee, “I’ve got an idea! I can enchant your swords! That way you’ll still be able to do things similar to magic!” She jumped up and sprinted over to the chest nearest the forge, throwing it open and grabbing a bar of metal. Weiss and Penny sat and watched as Ruby looked it over before dropping it back in and grabbing a different bar. Grinning, she put it on the bricks surrounding the forge, the orange glow still emanating from the heart of it. She picked up the long metal tongs and clicked them together with a chuckle, before using them to lift the bar and place it into the hottest part.

Once it was there, she stepped back and quickly unlaced her corset and removed the attached dress, chucking it to one side away from the heat to reveal a slightly loose cotton undershirt along with cotton trousers that were held up by a thin leather belt tied at the front. Both Penny and Weiss blushed and looked away, not wanting to see the Princess in the clothes below her dress. Ruby didn’t notice the two blushes and was instead focused on the metal, turning it slowly before setting up some tools on a nearby anvil. When she looked back to the forge the two guards could see a grin on her face that was just visible, as if she was extremely happy and excited about what was coming up next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much to anyone who subscribes, bookmarks, comments, kudos, or even just reads this, it's always really appreciated!


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